


Power Play

by honestgrins



Series: Elsewhere [5]
Category: The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-08-11
Updated: 2016-08-11
Packaged: 2018-08-08 01:55:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,687
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7738960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honestgrins/pseuds/honestgrins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Klaus knows better than to mess with the interns at his family's company, but a fiery blonde catches his eye and he can't resist flirting. Tired of losing out on opportunities because of her appearance, Caroline tries to use it to her advantage. Business propriety has never been so difficult.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Power Play

Considering how competitive her marketing program had been in applying for this coveted position, Caroline expected her fellow interns to be just as determined as she was to do good work at Mikaelson Industries.

Her disappointment was rivaled only by her annoyance to find that wasn't the case. While sitting in a brainstorming session for a new brand direction, she diligently took notes and compiled ideas as her partner checked his Twitter feed. Caroline scoffed to herself; Tyler Lockwood only landed his internship because his mother sat on the board of directors, and the legacy attitude showed.

"These suggestions lack originality," the CEO announced from the front of the room, "which would be forgivable if any of them were useful in the slightest."

Klaus Mikaelson had a reputation for being ruthless in the year since taking over the family company. The rebranding had been his idea, apparently to remove his father's toxic presence after an embezzlement conviction. Caroline was surprised to find him leading this small breakout session, but she respected his hands-on approach.

"I want to hear some new voices," he said, gesturing toward the back. Caroline had been about to raise her hand when he abruptly pointed at Tyler. "Ah, the young Mr. Lockwood," he called. "An intern such as yourself ought to use this as an opportunity to impress me. What are your thoughts on rebranding?"

Fumbling to lower his phone, Tyler looked to Caroline in a panic. She closed her portfolio with a smirk when he tried to glance at her notes. It was every woman for herself when there was only one full-time position available for the entire program, and she intended to win. "Um," Tyler stammered, grasping for anything to say.

"If I may," Caroline broke in. She used her best charming smile until Mr. Mikaelson nodded. "Your rigid avoidance of the family angle is hurting you more than helping. Steering in the skid and reminding the world this is still a family company might be exactly what you need to reassure stockholders. Despite any previous wrongdoing, the rest of the family is still fiercely loyal and operating better than ever."

Mr. Mikaelson narrowed his eyes at her impertinent comment. "You are?"

"Caroline Forbes, sir." Her chin jut out slightly, her natural defiance coming out at the obvious surprise in the room; yes, pretty blondes could have business acumen along with great boobs.

As though sensing her challenge, he smirked. Caroline thought those dimples should be illegal on someone so powerful. The boyish charm might be disarming had she not been so prepared. Cyber-stalking the boss was practically mandatory of any good employee, and Caroline knew just how handsome the CEO would be.

"Well, Miss Forbes," he said smoothly. "I'd like a proposition memo outlining your ideas by the end of the day."

Her breath hitched as she grinned excitedly. "Yes, sir!"

Some chuckles broke out around the table, but she refused to be embarrassed about her enthusiasm. They were just jealous the boss liked what she had to say.

"Unless anyone has more to add, I think it's time to get back to work," Mr. Mikaelson announced. People started to file out of the room, and Tyler pulled her arm to get her to follow.

"Caroline," Mr. Mikaelson said, frowning. "A word?"

* * *

As head of the Marketing Department, Rebekah had more direct concerns than personnel issues. Their father rigidly designated big picture duties to his children, and it wasn't until he was forced out of the company in disgrace that Rebekah demanded more control over her division.

One of her pet projects was the internship program, which had languished under Mikael's influence. Too many interns were culled from old family friends, yuppies who were looking for an easy resume line. Rebekah fought to make the process more competitive, and it was only Elijah's insistence that allowed Tyler Lockwood to slip through the cracks. Board relations were his responsibility as Chief Financial Officer, and Elijah was adamant that offending the Lockwoods would be a faux pas easily avoided.

Glancing over the young Miss Forbes, though, Klaus realized how right his sister had been. The pink blazer and bouncy curls had prepared him to write off the intern when she took Lockwood's turn, but her sharp tongue belied a sharp mind. More striking still was the utter brightness of her reaction; he half expected her to clap when he asked for a memo.

When the room finally emptied, he shut the door to ensure their privacy in the conference room. "That was quite impressive," he said, turning to where she still sat. "Few in my employ are so frank in disagreeing with me."

Caroline stiffened, and Klaus had the oddest urge to reassure her. "You're not in trouble," he whispered with a wink to put her at ease. Leaning against the table, he smiled easily. "It's refreshing, actually."

"Then maybe you need a new staff," she replied cheekily. "Sycophants can only get you so far."

He laughed, taking them both by surprise. "I assure you, my siblings have enough of their own sycophants that any votes taken would still be quite varied."

"I like working for Rebekah," she clarified. "You know, in case you thought granting one project would be enough for me to switch to your team."

Chuckling, he nodded toward her portfolio. "I would need to hear more of your ideas if you wanted to switch to the winning side, love."

She shifted in her seat as she opened the portfolio to her notepad. "Anything in particular you're looking for?"

Thinking he must have been imagining it, Klaus thought her voice sounded a bit husky. If he were being honest, he hoped it was. He coughed to clear his own throat. "May I?" he asked, picking up her notes. When she nodded, he scanned her neat handwriting.

Most of the page detailed the meeting he had just led, tracking the discussion with summarized notes and her own observations. "You must be a very good student," he realized aloud. "Comprehensive and engaged. I'm impressed."

"Thank you," Caroline answered, surprised at the compliment. "I was a very good student."

"You've graduated?"

"Yes, University of Chicago for business," she said. "This internship actually counts toward an MBA, one of the reasons I applied."

Remembering some of Rebekah's modifications to the program, he was proud to see her changes attracted the right talent. "Does that mean you'll be seeking the full-time position at the end of the summer? I wouldn't be surprised if you were already a top contender."

Not bothering to hide a smug grin, Caroline tossed her curls over her shoulder. "I intend to receive an offer from several companies," she warned. "As much as I enjoy working here, I can't rule out a better opportunity elsewhere."

"Pragmatic," Klaus noted, moving into her space. "For what it's worth, I do hope you stay."

Narrowing her eyes shrewdly, Caroline seemed to give him the once-over. "As we've established, I'm a good student, which means I paid attention to the Human Resources lecture on sexual harassment."

Klaus balked at the term, immediately shifting back. "Caroline-"

She shrugged, unconcerned. "I'm just saying, I'm not the homewrecking intern that lands in the tabloids for bringing down a CEO," she said sweetly.

This time, he narrowed his eyes. "I'm not married," he clarified, though he suspected she knew that. "And our policy is only that relationships must be disclosed if there is an unfair power dynamic. Technically, you're under Rebekah's purview."

"I know," Caroline said, cheeky again as she batted her eyelashes. "Still, I'm too smart to be seduced by you."

"I know," he retorted easily, relaxing again into their banter. "That's why I like you." He grinned flirtatiously as he stood to leave. "Don't forget that memo."

He caught her wide smile soften into a more genuine grin, but it wasn't until he made it back to his office that he realized he was smiling as well.

* * *

Caroline watched him go, still a bit stunned after her encounter with the enigmatic CEO. In the few weeks she had been at the company, she was well used to the older men flirting with her; some of the younger ones were more dogged in hitting on her.

Klaus Mikaelson hadn't been quite so blatant, but he was also the first one that had her weighing the options.

She wasn't kidding when she refused to be the homewrecking intern. The media loved a scandal, even if there was no marriage to break up. Worse, sleeping with the boss was just about the quickest way to give Rebekah a reason to fire her. While she was confident that Rebekah liked her, Caroline also knew it was only because she was happy to meet her exacting standards. Getting involved with her brother would probably deplete that hard-earned goodwill.

Still, those dimples.

"No, nope," she snapped, closing her portfolio. "Not today, Satan. I've got a job to do." She all but ran out of the conference room to start on her memo. No pretty boy was going to turn her head this summer, no matter how compliments he gave. Caroline was going to aim high and land higher, and she didn't have to sleep her way up the ladder to accomplish that.

Despite her efforts to refute the expectations of her appearance, many people in the company still saw her as the blonde Barbie intern. A stern glare or telling off worked on her peers, but Rebekah took care to warn her that it was an exhausting way to deal with attacks on her femininity. "Kill them with kindness, Caro," she had said in that breezy lilt.

"Just let them walk all over me with their bullshit on their shoes?" Caroline had replied, aghast. "I don't have to accept that."

"That's not what I said," Rebekah corrected evenly. "I do believe I said to kill them. Smile prettily as you trade them sass for sass. The ruder they are, the meaner you get. It's a proportional response that keeps you safe from Human Resources, and it's psychological warfare for those that dare to underestimate you. It's not always easy to be a woman in business, but it is certainly more fun when you get the hang of it."

While Caroline thought Rebekah's view of things might be a bit privileged considering her position in a family business where she was put on even footing with her brothers, she did appreciate the advice. She did her best to not let others bother her, but she made sure to leave them a barb for their trouble anyway. They often walked away wondering whether or not she meant it, because she seemed too nonthreatening for any real bite.

It was a lesson learned, and Caroline wondered if there was a lesson to be had from Klaus as well. She was a firm believer in flirting to close a deal, but this was a different case entirely. For all she knew, he did this every year with the new batch of interns; yet, his interest seemed genuine.

Utterly confused, Caroline finally sagged into her desk chair when she reached her cubicle. She chewed on her lip, completely missing the other blonde until she sat on her desk. "What's wrong, Caro?"

"Nothing," she answered too quickly.

Rebekah arched an eyebrow. "Defensive," she accused. "I thought you'd be crowing after Tyler stomped in here, whining that you get to write Nik a memo."

Starting to ask a question, Caroline snapped her mouth shut before she could say anything. It was only Rebekah's unimpressed glare that forced her to talk. "Does your brother, um," she hesitated. "Does he pick a favorite intern who gets all the projects? Because of...benefits?"

Rolling her eyes, Rebekah scoffed. "Nik doesn't go near the interns, he knows better," she declared. A knowing look suddenly dawned on her face. "Oh, no."

"I knew it," Caroline huffed, crossing her arms. "I was so excited, too, but then he's all 'impressed' and nice, when everything I read about him called him 'a real prick' and I thought it was just a bit too convenient that he was all flirty and cute right after I kicked ass in that meeting and-"

"Caro!" Rebekah broke in, hands splayed as though she'd like to strangle her. "Calm down. You're saying Nik flirted with you?"

"Yes."

"He flirts with everyone, he's a flirt," she dismissed with a wave of her hand. "If that made you uncomfortable, I will speak to him immediately."

"It wasn't that," Caroline said, shaking her head. "I'm fine with flirting. Hell, I do it with you half the time."

"Well, I'm gorgeous."

"Right." Caroline couldn't help but smile at Rebekah's deadpan, though it wasn't meant to be humorous. It was just a fact. "Anyway, I don't want special treatment because I'm cute. Not when it comes to this, anyway. This is my career, and there will be no doubt I earned every inch of it."

"Then earn it," Rebekah said with a shrug. "All you can do is make the best of the opportunities available, and it would be a waste to give away assignments out of fairness. You earned this internship by being cutthroat in your interview. Don't go changing on me now."

Smiling more easily, Caroline finally sighed with relief. Her interview had been a fun one; her professor and Rebekah attacked her application essay on the importance of marketing in an increasingly apathetic, corporate world. While her professor thought she blew every chance by telling Rebekah exactly why her job wouldn't exist in ten years, Caroline still walked away with an offer and her current boss's reluctant admiration.

Caroline felt content knowing that Rebekah had her back, and she was confident enough in her abilities to know that any compliments she received would be well-deserved. Klaus could flirt with her all he wanted, and she might even flirt back; when it came down to it, though, her work would be impeccable.

She immediately got to work on her memo, typing fast as her ideas came faster. "Bring on the dimples, Mr. Mikaelson," she muttered to herself. "This memo's going to knock them right off your face."

* * *

**Two Months Later**

Klaus rubbed a tired hand over his face, still flipping through the binder Caroline had dropped on his desk before heading out. He knew she would be a smart-ass about this project once she realized it was his attempt to keep her at work a little longer. It was the night before the interns' last day, and she boldly exceeded his expectations with plenty of time to join her peers at that dreadful karaoke bar they liked.

He had asked for a detailed analysis of the company's profits in relation to the timeline of Mikael's trial, a natural support to her summer's work of a family-oriented marketing strategy. Her lips pursed and her eyes sparked with defiance at his last minute assignment, but she bounced right back into his office in less than an hour with an exhaustive binder of news clippings, financial reports, and incisive observations noted in the margins.

Watching him hesitate to open it, she smiled triumphantly then waved as she gracefully left without saying goodbye. Damn, but he would miss her.

Rebekah had told him just that afternoon about an offer Caroline received, from a company much closer to home and her ailing mother. Klaus had never been one for getting personal with employees, but twice weekly lunches with Caroline (as part of a mentorship program he had suggested to Rebekah) grew more informal as time went on. She spoke of her hometown and her family, why Chicago was so freeing to her, where she wanted to go in life.

He wanted to offer her everything she wanted.

It was an uncomfortable realization for him that he had fallen in love with an intern. He used to date, often. His phone still rang from the odd lover passing through town, though he hadn't accepted any invitations since Caroline blew into his life. They weren't even in a relationship; it was more like they were playing a game of chess. With each week that passed, he lost another piece from the board. He was running out of time to play, and he would have to relinquish his queen the next day.

Despair threatened to swallow him whole the more he considered the possibility that Caroline would accept the job in D.C., easily leaving him behind for her next opportunity.

She had explained it to him once, over a late dinner in the office. Wanting to impress Elijah with a presentation she had made for Rebekah, Caroline finagled her way into getting Klaus to check her math for the umpteenth time. He enjoyed the extra time with her, despite her blatant manipulation.

"It only works if you let me manipulate you," she had pointed out, literally pointing her champagne glass toward him. "You have your tricks, too, and you know it. This champagne, for one."

Klaus hadn't bothered to deny it, though his tricks were all meant to persuade her of something more. He wasn't playing a game anymore, just asking for a little more of her. "It's been a long day, and this is a big presentation," he said. "You deserve something nice."

Her smile had turned rueful. "Deserve is a funny word, isn't it?" she asked wistfully. "When we first met, I felt like it was unfair that I get more opportunities because you thought I was cute."

Tempted to correct her, he bit his tongue. He had a feeling that clarifying how beautiful she was to him would likely prove her point. Instead, he opted for a different truth to share. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel uncomfortable with my attentions."

"Not in the way you're thinking," she replied, her smile growing secretive. "I would have told you if you crossed a line, not to mention what Rebekah would have done to you. Anyway, I've since learned that it's not about how the opportunity comes, it's what I do with it. If an evil company decides I have the perfect attributes to further their mission, I can't shut myself off from the chance to change that company from the inside. There may be good and bad opportunities, but it's up to me to follow my conscience."

With her mother's health, Klaus could only imagine that Caroline would follow her conscience home, and away from him.

"I thought I'd find you here moping."

His head lifted in surprise, where he found Caroline leaning in the doorway. "What are you doing back here?"

"I just accepted a job offer," she said, sitting herself in the chair across from his desk with a box in her lap. "I wanted to give you a present, to thank you for mentoring me. I've learned a lot in this internship."

Sighing, Klaus attempted a smile. "Rebekah told me about the offer. Congratulations."

Caroline frowned. "I thought you would be happy," she said carefully, looking down to the gift in her hands. "Maybe this was a bad idea."

"I am happy for you," he insisted, reaching across his desk with an open hand, accepting the slim box. "D.C. will be lucky to have you."

"What?"

The utter disbelief in her voice had him meeting her exasperated face. "What?"

"Klaus, I'm not going to D.C.," she said. "That's not the job I accepted."

He shook his head in confusion, only for her to start laughing. "Open it," she told him, gesturing to the neatly wrapped present.

When he hesitated for too long, she grabbed it from his hands to just as neatly unwrap it. Chuckling, he watched her carefully fold the wrapping paper after handing the box back to him. "Shut up and open it," she said, rolling her eyes.

Finally, he lifted the lid to find a letter tucked inside. Unfolding the paper, he realized it wasn't a letter; it was the company's Human Resources form, the one disclosing a personal relationship among coworkers with an uneven power dynamic.

And Caroline had signed it with her new title, Assistant Marketing Director for the East Coast.

"That's brilliant, sweetheart," he said proudly. "I had no idea Rebekah was willing to promote you so high."

Biting her lip, Caroline nodded slowly. "I may have turned down the intership's full-time gig in favor of the D.C. offer," she explained, though she threw up a finger. "In my defense, I was almost ninety-eight percent sure Rebekah would sweeten the deal on a counter offer."

"If she didn't, I would have," Klaus admitted, the meaning of the paper he still held finally sinking in. "Caroline, are you asking me to sign this form?"

"No," she answered instantly, smiling when he actually pouted. "I'm asking you to dinner. I'm merely presenting you the opportunity to sign that paper in case you wanted to comply with your own company policy."

His eyes never left hers as he reached for a pen, blindly signing the page in a ridiculously huge fashion. She giggled at his silly gesture, the sparkle in her eyes the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. Distracted, it took him a moment to realize she stood up to leave. "Where are you going?"

"I believe I just asked you to dinner," she said, raising an eyebrow as she offered her hand. "I'm thinking Italian."

Moving a bit too quickly to play it cool, Klaus just went with it. He bypassed her hand, instead gripping her hips and leaning in to kiss her.

She giggled again, pulling away so he could only kiss her cheek. "Sorry, Mr. Mikaelson," she whispered, her voice husky with promise. "We're still on company property."

Narrowing his eyes at her game, he tried to think of a counter argument. He smirked as he pulled her toward the elevator. "It's a good thing we only rent two floors of the building then," he said, dimples cut deep into his cheeks.

She was kissing the breath from him before the doors closed.


End file.
